Tornadoes · United States

Tornadoes in New Mexico

678 tornadoes since 1950, an average of 8.9 a year, 29th of the 53 states and territories in the record. They have killed 4 people and injured 161. None was rated F4 or above.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

The deadliest in New Mexico

  1. EF2, Roosevelt and Curry counties, New MexicoMarch 23, 20072 killed, 33 injured
  2. F2, Bernalillo County, New MexicoOctober 10, 19741 killed, 8 injured
  3. F3, Colfax County, New MexicoMay 29, 19641 killed, 8 injured

The strongest

  1. F3, Grant County, New MexicoOctober 12, 1957F3, 8.2 mi (13 km)
  2. F3, Colfax County, New MexicoMay 29, 1964F3, 3.0 mi (5 km)
  3. F3, Harding County, New MexicoMay 14, 1977F3, 0.1 mi (0 km)
  4. F3, Lea County, New MexicoMay 17, 1954F3, 0.1 mi (0 km)
  5. F2, Quay County, New MexicoApril 17, 1970F2, 39.8 mi (64 km)
  6. F2, Curry County, New MexicoMay 24, 1957F2, 36.5 mi (59 km)
  7. F2, Curry and Parmer counties, New Mexico and TexasJune 11, 1964F2, 23.2 mi (37 km)
  8. EF2, Union and Cimarron counties, New Mexico and OklahomaMay 23, 2010EF2, 22.0 mi (35 km)
  9. F2, Lea County, New MexicoJune 6, 1991F2, 17.5 mi (28 km)
  10. EF2, Chaves County, New MexicoMarch 12, 2019EF2, 15.2 mi (24 km)
  11. EF2, Eddy County, New MexicoMarch 12, 2019EF2, 14.7 mi (24 km)
  12. EF2, Roosevelt and Curry counties, New MexicoMarch 23, 2007EF2, 12.4 mi (20 km)

The longest paths

  1. F2, Quay County, New MexicoApril 17, 197039.8 mi (64 km)
  2. F2, Curry County, New MexicoMay 24, 195736.5 mi (59 km)
  3. F2, Curry and Parmer counties, New Mexico and TexasJune 11, 196423.2 mi (37 km)
  4. EF2, Union and Cimarron counties, New Mexico and OklahomaMay 23, 201022.0 mi (35 km)
  5. EF0, Union County, New MexicoMay 26, 201921.7 mi (35 km)
  6. F1, Curry County, New MexicoApril 14, 199218.0 mi (29 km)
  7. F2, Lea County, New MexicoJune 6, 199117.5 mi (28 km)
  8. F0, Santa Fe County, New MexicoMay 25, 195615.8 mi (25 km)
  9. F1, Union County, New MexicoMay 17, 196215.3 mi (25 km)
  10. EF2, Chaves County, New MexicoMarch 12, 201915.2 mi (24 km)
  11. EF2, Eddy County, New MexicoMarch 12, 201914.7 mi (24 km)
  12. F1, Curry County, New MexicoJune 12, 196412.6 mi (20 km)

The costliest

  1. EF2, Roosevelt and Curry counties, New MexicoMarch 23, 2007$19 million
  2. EF1, Quay County, New MexicoMarch 23, 2007$3.5 million
  3. EF2, Roosevelt County, New MexicoMay 26, 2019$2.0 million
  4. EF2, Chaves County, New MexicoMarch 12, 2019$2.0 million
  5. F2, Colfax County, New MexicoJuly 25, 1996$1.7 million
  6. EF2, Union County, New MexicoMay 23, 2010$325,000
  7. EF1, Curry County, New MexicoDecember 27, 2019$300,000
  8. EF0, Colfax County, New MexicoAugust 9, 2018$300,000
  9. EF2, Union and Cimarron counties, New Mexico and OklahomaMay 23, 2010$270,000
  10. EF1, Otero County, New MexicoJune 4, 2019$250,000
  11. EF1, Union County, New MexicoMay 23, 2010$125,000
  12. EF0, San Miguel County, New MexicoOctober 1, 2023$100,000

The biggest days in New Mexico

  1. June 6, 199112tornadoes
  2. March 23, 200710tornadoes
  3. June 5, 19917tornadoes
  4. June 5, 20256tornadoes
  5. May 26, 20196tornadoes
  6. May 23, 20106tornadoes
  7. April 8, 20046tornadoes
  8. June 4, 20036tornadoes
  9. May 30, 19576tornadoes
  10. May 17, 20215tornadoes
  11. June 8, 20145tornadoes
  12. May 10, 19725tornadoes

Every year

Every year of the published record, and above it the 1 tornado track surveyed in New Mexico so far in 2026. This year's figures are preliminary and are not in the totals above, which are SPC's published database.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesF4 and above
2026 preliminary1
202515
202412
202313
20222
202116
20206
2019197
201811
201712
20169
201561
201414
20132
20126
20112
201012
20094
200811
200723245
20065
20057
200411
20037
20023
20015
20005
19998
19987
199711
1996165
19959
199413
19933
1992247
19913126
199016
198916
1988101
198715
19862
19855
19841
19833
19827
19818
19803
197913
19783
197783
197622
19753
1974618
19732
1972181
197112
197011
196992
196823
19678
196616
1965143
19641119
19638
1962121
1961113
1960634
195916
19587
195717
19564
19551
19548
19512
19502

Every county in New Mexico

A tornado is counted once for every county its path crossed, so these add up to more than 678. Each county has a page of its own: every tornado that crossed it, year by year.

CountyTornadoesDeaths
Lea County95
Roosevelt County632
Eddy County60
Curry County572
Chaves County53
Union County47
Quay County41
Santa Fe County27
Lincoln County23
Colfax County221
Otero County18
Torrance County18
Bernalillo County161
San Miguel County16
Doña Ana County13
Guadalupe County13
Sandoval County13
Mora County12
San Juan County11
De Baca County10
Socorro County10
Harding County8
Grant County7
Valencia County7
McKinley County5
Sierra County5
Luna County4
Hidalgo County3
Cibola County2
Rio Arriba County2
Taos County2
Cimarron County1
Hartley County1
Parmer County1

Nearby

Warnings in force in New MexicoForecast for your townThe live radar over New Mexico

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.